There are many common misconceptions about people with Down syndrome, and one of them is that they cannot have children. But, according to the Global Down Syndrome Foundation, women with the condition can bear children just fine and, in extremely rare cases, men can become fathers too. Jad Issa, a Syrian man with Down syndrome, is one of those people. Together with his wife, they had a child named Sader and have raised him to become a dentist, proving there’s nothing more powerful than selfless love.

Jad met his wife after he started working in a local wheat mill. The two fell in love and shortly after getting married, Sader was born – without Down syndrome. He was welcomed to the family and lovingly cared for, just like any other child would in general be. Sader told Bright Side that he remembers feeling very loved as a child and his father would spend time with him doing things like thumb wrestling and playing other games.

Indeed, Jad was determined to give his son the best life possible. He started saving up for his son’s college and showered him with love. Fortunately, the local community supported them and accepted the family as they are.

Growing up with a dad who has Down syndrome and was so committed to give him the best possible future inspired Sader to study well and become a doctor.

“I think I would’ve been much less excited about life and much less passionate with what I do if I didn’t have my special father,” he wrote captioning a photo where he is shown with his dad. Sader now practices as a dentist and Jad couldn’t be more proud. “My son is a doctor,” he tells people with the utmost pride.

According to an Instagram post by Sader, when his father was three years old (upper left picture), the expectations about his future were not too high, “maybe a peaceful life in the beautiful little town that he was born in but nothing more.” The upper right picture was taken almost 15 years later, “when he was about 18 years old and he had changed some of the earlier judgements about his capabilities because he had started working and had started his career in the local factory that he still works in until this day not so many people thought he could do this hard physical work but he has been doing it for more than 25 years now,” Sader writes.

The lower left picture was taken six to seven years later and shows that Sader’s father changed a lot by that time. “Not many people thought that he could get married and even if he got married he wouldn’t be able to be a father and until this day we find this outdated idea about fertility of people with DS even from the medical practitioners.”

He adds that he wishes for an international organization to reach out to him formally to scientifically document their case. “We are 100% percent ready for it because until this day we can find the majority of people know very little about DS and the potentials of people with DS.”

“The final picture is on the lower right and it’s after about 42 years of the first picture and I think that it speaks for itself and shows how great and prosperous people with DS can be and that there’s nothing impossible no matter how hard it seemed,” concludes Sader.

Talking about the relationship between his mom and dad, Sader told Bright Side that despite being together for decades, the love between his parents is still as if they were married yesterday. They love to go on walks together, while at other times they just sit and chat away for hours. They understand each other’s needs perfectly.

Sader credits his father for his success, and says he is as proud of his dad as his dad is of him. In their free time, the inspiring duo enjoy watching movies together.

Learn more about the family in the video below.

Truly amazing people!

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4